Fairbury, NE

Friday, May 10

Every morning, Aden wakes up in the RV and peeks out the window to see where we are that day. To some, this might seem unstable -- for a five-year-old boy to wake up in a different place every morning — but for us, it means we’re living out our dream. Every day, we get to wake up and explore someplace new together. Today, we woke up in my parent’s drive-way (ha!) and planned to spend the day with family in Nebraska.

Since it was Friday, my mom and sister had to work but I convinced my sister to let my nieces stay home from school so they could spend the day with us. Tory and I homeschooled over breakfast, then Andi and I left the kids with my dad so we could go workout at the local Anytime Fitness. Tory, Aden and their cousins played contently all afternoon.

Around 5pm, we left my parents house and drove 30 minutes southwest to Rock Creek Station Campground. We planned to meet my cousin Jen & her family here as well as my Aunt Cheri and Uncle Norm for a weekend of camping. Rock Creek Station Campground is adjacent to Rock Creek Station Historical Site, a stagecoach and Pony Express Station in southeastern Nebraska.

That night, we set up camp beside Jen & Zach who arrived shortly thereafter with their new pull-behind camper. Norm and Cheri were a few campsites down from us, and joined our party after everyone got settled in and ate dinner. Norm brought a science experiment for the kids — different substances like sugar, epsom salts, and baking soda — that they could each take turns adding to the fire to turn the flames different colors. We ended the evening with s’mores, of course, and laughter and conversation around the campfire.

Saturday, May 11

It was a little on the chilly side when we woke up Saturday morning! Jen went for a run and I worked out beside the RV on the concrete pad while Andi and Zach cooked breakfast for everyone.

After breakfast, we gathered the kids and walked over to the Rock Creek Station National Historic Site about a 1/2 mile away from the campground. Along the way, Zach spotted some morel mushrooms growing wild in the grasses.

Once we arrived at the historic site, we toured the toll bridge and buildings that have been reconstructed on the property. Rock Creek Station was once a supply center and stopping grounds for immigrants traveling along the Oregeon and California Trail. In the mid 1800’s, a toll bridge was added which charged covered wagons between .10 and .50 to cross the creek. Deep wagon ruts can still be seen on the land today. It was interesting to read about the role Rock Creek Station played in the expansion of the west back then.

Back at camp, my sister Ashley and her family and my Mom & Dad came to visit. It was a chilly spring day, so we sat around the campfire and talked while the kids played in the woods nearby and made mud pies.

We grilled burgers for dinner just before the rain forced us all inside to our respective campers. Ashley, Duff, Brooke and Neeley came inside our RV to hang out for a bit longer. I convinced Andi to let Brooke and Neeley sleep over with us since they’d never been camping before. It would be a tight squeeze, but we could make it work for one night. After all, that’s the stuff that memories are made of!

Sunday, May 12

Happy Mother’s Day! We woke up at Rock Creek Station to a wet, muddy and cool morning. Fortunately, everyone slept great in our small RV. Andi fired up the espresso maker and set to work cooking breakfast for the kids. He fired off a text message to Zach and Jen in the next camper to see if they were awake and ready for coffee yet.

After breakfast, we met up with Jen, Zach and their kiddos for a morning walk around the campground. We figured we’d best get our wiggles out before packing up camp and heading back to Beatrice to celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom and sister.

We spent the rest of Sunday lounging around my parent’s house. My mom made brats and hot dogs for lunch and we spent a few hours catching up on life. Later, Andi and I took Tory, Brooke and Aden for a bike ride. We settled into my parent’s drive-way again where we’d spend the night again that evening.

Tomorrow, we planned to make the 1 1/2 hour drive to Omaha to visit friends.